A Ninja's Path, A Shaman's Dream
by OverSoulKing
Summary: A mysterious light draws two worlds together. Bringing the the Shaman Fight to Konohagakure. What will happen when these warriors meet? and what is this mysterious light?
1. Chapter 1: Konohagakure

**Chapter 1: Konohagakure**

It was a day like any other in the Konohagakure. Loyal shinobi arriving and departing on missions issued by Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. Just like any other ninja in the village, Naruto Uzumaki was hard at work. He was spending the day at the training field with Kakashi and Yamato in an effort to better control his Kyuubi powers.

"Kakashi-sensei! Can we just take a break? I'm tired, let's go get ramen! On you of course!"

"You must learn to control the nine-tailed fox within you, Naruto. The fight against Madara won't be an easy one and we don't know what he'll have waiting for us. Now, come at me again. Give it everything you've got." Kakashi replied.

Just then, much to Kakashi's dismay, Sakura Haruno appeared with lunch.

"NARUTO! KAKASHI-SENSEI! YAMATO-SENSEI! I figured you guys were hungry so I brought you lunch!"

"Right on time, Sakura!" Naruto said excitedly as he ran towards her with hungry eyes and an even hungrier stomach.

Suddenly the earth began to tremble, the trees shook violently, and a rift seemed to open up directly above the village!

"Is Madara attacking the village now!?" Naruto screamed.

"It's very possible, Naruto. We need to get back to the village and regroup with the other shinobi" Yamato said, with a stern look.

They looked at each other, nodded, and took off towards the village. As they made their way through the forest, they began to see what looked like orbs of light. Confused as to what they were, and what they were made of, Kakashi warned them to stay clear of any orbs they saw along the way. In spite of heeding her sensei's warning, Sakura began to feel as though her chakra and life force were being drained away. She chose to ignore this, thinking it was happening because she hadn't eaten all day. As they reached the village they found that many of the inhabitants had been turned into orbs as well. Just then, they heard a voice coming from the top of the front gate.

"Naruto! Sakura! Kakashi-Sensei! Yamato-Sensei!"

It was Rock Lee, Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shikamaru. They jumped down to greet Naruto and the others immediately. They then explained that many of the villagers were being turned into orbs of spiritual energy.

"We need to figure out who did this to the village, and why." Shikamaru said calmly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It was Madara! It has to be him! Who else would do this!?" Naruto screamed loudly.

"From what I've seen so far, the victims have been mostly female, seeing as we are all men here with the exception of Sakura" Neji explained.

"Speaking of Sakura, where is she?" Kiba asked. "Akamaru and I can still detect her scent but she's nowhere to be found"

"She's right there, Kiba" Kakashi said. "You said that most of the victims were female, right Neji?"

Neji nodded.

"If my guess is right, Sakura was turned into an orb just as we arrived from the forest." Kakashi explained as he pointed towards a random orb.

"Kiba, can you detect Sakura's scent from that orb?" Yamato asked.

As Kiba and Akamaru sniffed the area around the orb, they looked back at the group and confirmed that the orb was, in fact, Sakura.

"Why is Madara attacking all of the women!? That coward!" Rock Lee exclaimed as his eyes burned with a fiery passion.

"Bushy brow is right! Come out and fight us Madara! Pick on somebody your own size!" Naruto screamed in agreement.

"Stop screaming will you? You're gonna let them know where we are."

"Who said that?" said Rock Lee.

It was Asuma, Might Guy, Choji, and Shino. They had found each other after the rift opened up as well.

"Glad we found you guys, there aren't many other shinobi left in this village that aren't orbs of energy." Asuma said with relief.

"Even Lady Tsunade, the Hokage, got turned into one of those things!" Choji exclaimed fearing he would suffer the same fate.

The rift in the sky began to expand. Rapidly growing larger and larger as if it were getting ready to swallow up the entire village. Suddenly it stopped growing, and a flood of light energy poured down like a waterfall and covered the entire village.

"Wood Style! Wood Locking Wall!"

Yamato immediately reacted using his Wood Release technique to protect the group of shinobi from any possible danger. After the light had faded, the group turned to express their thanks to Yamato.

"Yamato-sensei! Thanks so mu—"

Naruto and the others were shocked to find that Yamato had been turned into a spirit orb as well. Much of his chakra had been absorbed by the flood of light which gave him this form.

"Ya-Ya-Yamato-Sensei…" Naruto whispered.

Already livid from losing Sakura to that form, Naruto proceeded to punch the wall that Yamato had created to protect them.

"I can't believe we lost Yamato-Sensei too! Ugh!" Naruto screamed as he continued to punch the wall.

"You're not gonna get anything done punching the wall, Naruto."

This was a new voice, but at the same time it was familiar. With the rest of the group speechless, Naruto turned to see who it was.

"Sasuke..? What are you doing here!?" Naruto asked, enraged.

"I sensed a huge surge of power coming from the village and I decided to investigate what sort of being could hold that much power." Sasuke replied, nonchalantly. "I thought it might've been you, but you're still too weak to have that sort of power. I want to find out who that power is coming from."

"Why you!" Naruto screamed as he ran full on towards Sasuke, kunai in hand.

"Now is not the time for fighting, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled as he stopped Naruto's attack. "We've got to figure out what's going on here. Sasuke, you seem to be interested in this as well. I suggest you stick around if you want to see this powerful being you spoke of."

Sasuke gave a look of consideration and agreed.

"This is only a temporary alliance. This does not mean we are friends. OKAY!? NARUTO!?"

Naruto nodded in agreement.


	2. Chapter 2: The Shaman Fight

**Chapter 2: The Shaman Fight**

As Team Funbari, Team "The Ren", and the remaining X-Laws trained for the second half of the Shaman Fight, Yoh Asakura, while out for a mid-afternoon walk, began to sense a weird aura emanating nearby the Great Spirit.

"Amidamaru, do you feel that? It feels as though something is calling out to me. Could it be the Great Spirit? It's certainly coming from that direction." Yoh said.

"Yoh-dono, do you wish for me to investigate?" Amidamaru suggested.

"No, that's alright Amidamaru. Let's both go, I want to see whatever is calling me with my own two eyes." Yoh explained.

As they followed the mysterious call, Yoh and Amidamaru discovered they weren't the only ones who had heard it. Chocolove and Lyserg had heard it as well.

"Yoh! Lyserg! What are you guys doing here?" Chocolove asked, confused as to why he and his friends were all standing in front of the same cave.

"Amidamaru and I felt something weird earlier so we came to check it out." Yoh answered.

"I felt something weird too, Morphine is helping me find where that weird aura is coming from." Lyserg said. "She led me to this cave. What do you say, should we go in?"

Yoh and Chocolove laughed and agreed. The three of them were relieved that, although they're on different teams, their friendship had still remained strong. As they headed into the cave they began to sense an unstable, yet contained source of furyoku.

"Do you guys feel that?" Yoh asked. "It feels like a reservoir of furyoku is about to break loose."

Chocolove and Lyserg, noticing the immense level of furyoku, walked carefully alongside Yoh as they ventured deeper into the cave. Chocolove turns to his spirits, Mick and Pascal Avaf, and asks them to be ready for an emergency evacuation. Lyserg does the same to Morphine and Zelel.

"This level of furyoku is pretty intimidating. Don't you think?" Lyserg said cautiously.

"It is. But whatever is down there, I'm sure we can handle it. Everything will turn out fine." Yoh answered with a goofy smile.

Lyserg laughed softly and smiled in agreement. The deeper they went, the stronger the furyoku felt. When they finally reached the bottom of the cave the trio discovered that Ryu, Faust, Ren and HoroHoro were already investigating this mysterious aura. Their friends remained motionless, staring at a gargantuan tablet. Chocolove then sought the knowledge of his wisest spirit, Avaf.

"What do you think Master Avaf? What does this tablet say?" Chocolove asked.

"The tablet itself is a seal. It seals a great power behind it. A power greater than any I have ever seen. A power that not even Hao, in his 1000 years of life, has discovered. Your friends, they are merely stupefied at the sheer power this tablet hides" Avaf replied.

Yoh found himself moving closer to the tablet. With each step he could feel the great power passing right through him, suppressing his free will. As Yoh drew closer, he began to draw his sword, the Harusame, and the Futunomita no Tsurugi.

"YOH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Chocolove screamed in fear of what would come next.

In an instant Yoh formed his Spirit of Sword OverSoul and cut through the giant tablet, splitting it in two and allowing the power that had been hidden for so long to flood the entire room. Hao, noticing the sudden surge of furyoku, went to investigate.

"This power..."Hao said to himself as he and his Spirit of Fire walked towards the cave. "The patch went to great lengths to hide it for all these years. I didn't even know about this when I was a Patch." As they walked, Hao noticed that he was being followed by the Patch official Silva, who had also sensed the great surge of power.

The Iron Maiden Jeanne, the true leader of the X-Laws, also noticed the power. She sent Marco, her second in command, to investigate as well.

"I pray that this power could be of use to the young maiden. With this, she may become the winner of the Shaman Fight just yet!" Marco thought as he and his Angel Michael raced towards the site of the surge.

As the members of Team Funbari, Team "the Ren", and Lyserg come to their senses, they discover that behind the tablet is a hidden portal.

"What happened? Where's the tablet, and what's this portal doing here?" Yoh asked, worriedly.

"You mean you don't remember?" Chocolove asked. "You straight up cut it down with your Spirit of Sword OverSoul! I guess that giant portal is what the tablet was hiding!"

As everyone gathered together, they began to exchange information as to why they were drawn to the cave.

"I just felt as though I could've received a greater power from here" said Ren, intently looking into the portal.

"Me too. I thought the power I needed to win the tournament could be found here. But I guess I was wrong. So, what do we do now?" HoroHoro asked.

"Well, what do you think should we do boss?" asked Ryu, wondering what Yoh's next move would be.

"I think we should go through the portal." Said Yoh, shocking everybody but Ren. "I want to find out where it goes. If Ren and HoroHoro are right, this could help us become strong enough to defeat Hao."

As the group contemplated entering the portal, they heard a sound coming from somewhere inside the cave.

"We're coming too!" screamed Redseb, as he, Seyram, and Mikihasa flew in on Golem.

"Redseb? What are you doing here? It's dangerous. Go home." Said HoroHoro, condescendingly.

"I saw Yoh, Lyserg, and Chocolove enter the cave while Golem and I were sitting near the Great Spirit." Redseb said. "I wanted to see what they were doing. And now that I know, I want to get stronger too!"

"You're just a kid! Stop trying to get yourself killed! Idiot!" Ren screamed, infuriated. "Leave this to the shamans who know what they're doing!"

Redseb refused to leave. Prompting Ren and HoroHoro to ask Yoh to speak to him. As Yoh walked over to Redseb to convince him to go home, Yoh turned around stared calmly at Ren and HoroHoro.

"What? What's with that look Yoh?" Ren asked.

"I think we should let them come with us." Yoh replied. "Who are we to stop someone from getting stronger? And besides, my dad is with them. Everything will turn out fine."

Ren began to walk away angrily, but was stopped by Marco, who had just discovered the source of power he had been searching for.

"Marco? What are you doing here?" Lyserg asked. "And where's the Lady Jeanne?"

"The real question here is, what are YOU doing here Lyserg? Why are you fraternizing with the enemy?" Marco retorted angrily. "Lady Jeanne sent me here to investigate a sudden surge of furyoku. I suggest you all leave now, because this power now belongs to the Iron Maiden Jeanne."

"Like hell it does!" Ren screamed "this power will help me win the Shaman Fight and become Shaman King!"

Ren charged at Marco with his Fish Fin OverSoul but was blocked by Marco's angel, Michael.

"Don't fight!" Yoh said. "We won't get anywhere trying to murder each other. We're here to investigate, that's all."

"Even if they did, I would just bring them back to life." Faust said with a smile.

Marco and Ren lowered their weapons. Agreeing that they had a common purpose for once.

"So, what's the plan Yoh?" Chocolove asked. "Are we going to go through the portal or not?"

"We are." Replied Yoh. "We have to remember, that we don't know what's on the other side of this portal. We need to be ready for anything."

Just then an explosion came from the entrance to the tablet room. Hao had found them and had every desire to harness the power hidden within the portal for himself. He then charged at the group full on with the Spirit of Fire, only to be stopped by Silva's Silver Shield OverSoul.

"Silva!? You too!?" Yoh exclaimed. "Where is everybody coming from?!"

"I felt the strong surge of furyoku as well. I followed Hao here in order to protect the portal. This portal is an ancient secret of the Patch. A secret very few know about. But for some reason it had selected all of you as its champions."

"Champions?" Ryu asked, confused. "Does this mean we all won the Shaman Fight?"

"I'll explain later! Just jump through the portal! NOW!" Silva screamed.

While Silva struggled to hold back Hao, they jumped through the portal one by one. First Yoh, then Ren, Chocolove, HoroHoro, Marco, Lyserg, Redseb, Seyram, Mikihasa, Golem, Faust, then Ryu. Silva's shield could not hold on long enough for Silva to close the portal, and broke. Silva was pushed into the portal as Hao broke through and entered as well. The portal shut, and everyone was engulfed in a white light. When they awoke, they found themselves on a platform in front of a mountain. They seemed to be in a village of some sort, a village hidden in a forest.


	3. Chapter 3: Contact

**Chapter 3: Contact**

They looked up at the mountain and saw five faces, four men and one woman.

"Where are we?" HoroHoro asked. "And who the hell are these people carved into the mountain?"

"I haven't the slightest clue but it looks like we're in some sort of village. The atmosphere here is different too, it isn't the same as our world." Yoh said, calmly. "Although, it looks like everyone made it here safely…wait, where's Hao?"

"He must've woken up before everyone else and run off. Coward." Ren replied.

"Before we go searching for Hao, can somebody please explain where we are?" whined HoroHoro.

Silva nodded.

"The portal is an ancient tool used by the Patch. Only a select few are allowed to know about its existence, and even fewer its whereabouts. This portal, which is powered by the Great Spirit, has the ability to send its travelers to any of its thousand different worlds. We are fortunate that we were all brought to the same one. The purpose of the portal is to send the traveler into a different world in order to test his or her skills against the warriors it contains." Silva explained.

"So, how do we get back home? And why are there spirit orbs everywhere?" Marco asked, angrily.

"Fortunately, the Patch have built doors in each of the worlds. It is a part of the trial to find the way home." Silva answered. "The Great Spirit brought us here because there are formidable opponents. The door will not reveal itself until we have proven ourselves worthy, so I suggest that we all start looking for an opponent. It has bound your destiny to theirs, so they will be easy to find. As for the orbs, The Great Spirit has turned all innocents into spirit forms in order to ensure their safety."

"Redseb. Seyram. I will not be with you this time." said Mikihasa to his young wards. "Trust in Golem's abilities and prove your worth."

Everyone looked at each other, nodded, and went their separate ways in search of their opponent. Meanwhile, in The Valley of The End, Hao stood upon the statue of Hashirama Senju thinking to himself.

"It seems that even though this world is full of spirits, my Spirit of Fire cannot ingest them. Quite interesting indeed." Hao said, disappointed.

Suddenly, Hao began to sense a presence unlike any he had felt before. This presence did not fear death, nor did it value life. It was cold and merciless.

"Whoever you are, come out quietly and I won't rip your soul to shreds." Hao threatened. "Hiding won't do you any good, seeing as I can read your mind."

A mysterious voice echoed throughout the valley.

"I am not a man to be threatened, stranger." The mysterious voice said. "Yet, I sense a great power within you."

"You're absolutely right." Hao replied. "I wield the Spirit of Fire. One of the five grand elemental spirits of the Great Spirit."

The mysterious voice then appeared out of hiding and revealed himself to be Madara Uchiha, the greatest enemy that Konohagakure has ever known. In spite of his bone-chilling presence, Hao remained unfazed.

"You are not from this world." Madara said. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know why I'm here." Hao replied "But I can sense your raw power as well. You truly aren't a man to be reckoned with. With your soul, my Spirit of Fire would be more powerful than ever. What do you say you give me your soul?"

"Tch. If you want my soul, you'll have to rip it from my body." Madara retorted.

"If that's the way you want it, I'll happily oblige." Hao said, with a dark grin.

Almost immediately, Hao made the first move. Using the air as his medium, he formed his OverSoul "Spirit of Fire". Attacking powerfully and quickly Hao proved to be no weakling, easily destroying hundreds of acres with each punch. But Madara was no weakling either, dodging every attack Hao dished out.

"You're strong." Madara said, condescendingly. "But you lack accuracy."

"DO NOT LOOK DOWN ON ME!" screamed Hao. "MY SPIRIT OF FIRE WILL FEAST ON YOUR SOUL!"

Madara continued to dodge Hao's attacks waiting for the right opportunity to strike back, slowly biding his time, studying Hao's movements. Madara then found and opening and attacked! Rushing towards Hao at a blinding speed, Madara delivered a kick that Hao would not soon forget.

"How!? How is he able to move that quickly!?" Hao thought to himself. "I've never seen speed like that. Even from Chocolove."

"You've left yourself open for too long!" Madara screamed. "FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU! "

A huge explosion resulted from a direct hit to Hao, smoke and ash flying in each direction. As the smoke cleared, much to Madara's surprise, Hao emerged unscathed. Hao had the ability to change the nature of his spirit to any of the five elements: Fire, Water, Metal, Wood, or Earth. By changing the Spirit of Fire's nature to water, Hao was able to nullify the gigantic fire ball thrown at him.

"It seems we are at a stale mate." Hao said, begrudgingly.

"If you think this is a stale mate, you're still too naïve." Madara answered with a cold look in his eyes. "I have yet to get serious."

Meanwhile, Naruto and the others planned their next move.

"If this is an attack on Konoha, we can't just sit here and let it happen. We need a plan." Shikamaru said.

"He's right." Asuma agreed. "If Madara really is behind this, we need to find him as soon as possible. We still don't know why he turned everyone into orbs of energy either."

"Although our main priority is finding Madara, we have another problem." Shino said. "I don't know if any of you noticed, but there has been a change in our atmosphere. There are eleven new beings within our village walls. And they're pretty powerful too."

"How do you know Shino?" Naruto asked, confused.

"My bugs have been acting up ever since the strange light faded." Shino replied, anxiously.

"They must be Madara's subordinates!" Might Guy screamed. "I think we should go find them! There are eleven of us, and eleven of them! Each of us gets an opponent! THIS IS THE POWER OF OUR YOUTH. TO FIGHT STRONG OPPONENTS AND TO DEFEND OUR VILLAGE!"

"I AM WITH YOU MASTER!" screamed Rock Lee.

"That isn't a bad idea, Guy." Kakashi said sternly. "Okay. Is everybody okay with this plan? We'll each seek out one of Madara's subordinates, take them down, and meet here to regroup. Be very careful, we don't know who they are or what they can do. Try to take them down as quickly as possible."

The group quickly dispersed in search of Madara's subordinates, each with a resolve that could not easily be broken.


	4. Chapter 4: A Man's Best Friend

**Chapter 4: A Man's Best Friend**

"Do you smell them, Akamaru?" Kiba asked as he gazed intently upon the village.

Akamaru gave a disappointed look to Kiba, signaling that he couldn't smell their enemies.

"It's alright boy, I have a feeling we'll be finding them real soon." Kiba said, reassuringly.

As Kiba and Akamaru continued to explore the village, a thick fog began to roll in. Slowly, it began creeping along the fruit stands on the sidewalk, filling up every alleyway, surrounding Kiba and Akamaru, blinding them immensely.

"There!" Kiba screamed as he and Akamaru jumped back.

Just then a slender shadow slowly reveals himself. A long, white lab coat flows behind his stitched torso, but not distracting from his wide, but crooked smile.

"Dear Eliza, what do you think we should do with them? Their bodies are quite young, ideal for experimentation. Alas they do exude a certain atmosphere, almost as if their will to fight is greater than ours. My dear won't you please lend me a hand, once more?"

Just then, a woman appeared behind the mysterious figure. Her ethereal presence radiated a calming, yet powerful aura.

"Who are you people!?" Kiba screamed. "And what do you want!?"

Akamaru barks in agreement.

"Me?" the mysterious figure asked. "My name is Johann George Faust VIII, I'm commonly known as Faust, and this is my lovely wife Eliza. As for what we want, rather what the Great Spirit wants, is for us to fight."

"Great Spirit?" Kiba thought to himself "Is that what Madara is making his henchmen call him? Ugh! This is no time to question his preferences. I need to take this guy out!"

Without a second thought, Kiba and Akamaru rushed in to attack Faust.

"FANG PASSING FANG!" Kiba screamed as he and Akamaru spun ferociously past Faust, who had dodged the attack. "Damn, he's fast. I guess we'll just have to move faster! Let's go, Akamaru!"

As the duo prepared to attack again, a gigantic syringe was thrust at them.

"What the hell is that!? A giant needle?" Kiba screamed in confusion as he dodged the giant needle. "Where the hell did that come from, and what kind of jutsu is this!?"

"Jut—su?" Faust asked "I know nothing of these so called Jutsu, but this is the result of the love between me and my dear Eliza. OverSoul: MEPHISTO E!"

"Looks like we'll just have to talk with our fangs and our fists! INUZUKA STYLE, MAN BEAST COMBO TRANSFORMATION: TWO HEADED WOLF! FANG WOLF FANG!" Kiba screamed as he and Akamaru fiercely bore into Eliza's syringe with a powerful cyclone, cracking it significantly.

"It will take more than that to defeat our love! AMPULE HAGEN!" Faust shouted as he fired a multitude of smaller, much faster syringes at Kiba and Akamaru.

"What are these guys? They have an enormous amount of chakra, but it somehow feels different, like it's on a completely different wavelength." Kiba thought to himself as he and Akamaru did their best to dodge the syringes. "Madara really must've gone all out to have hired people this powerful."

Kiba managed to see the attack through with only a few cuts on his face and right arm. But it seemed that Akamaru wasn't so lucky. He had sustained significant damage, bleeding profusely from his left foreleg and back.

"Akamaru! Are you okay!?" Kiba screamed, worriedly. "Stay here boy, I'll take care of this guy from here on. And don't worry, I'll kick his ass hard enough for the both of us." he said with a smile.

Kiba found a safe place and dressed Akamaru's wounds as best he could, then left to immediately confront Faust.

"FAUST! YOU WANT A FIGHT? YOU GOT ONE! RIGHT HERE!" Kiba screamed.

"Oh? Where is your dog?" Faust asked, sarcastically.

"You almost killed him! He's my best friend, and you hurt him. Now, I'm gonna kill you." Kiba said angrily.

Kiba's body glowed as he lowered his torso, revealing his Four Legs Technique. A technique exclusive to the members of the Inuzuka clan, this technique greatly increases the user's physical strength, senses, and agility to mimic that of a beast.

"PASSING FANG!" Kiba screamed furiously as he, once again, violently attacked Faust and Eliza. Kiba's rage fueled attack, much stronger than usual, completely destroyed Eliza's entire left arm and shoulder, partially disarming her.

"You...You'll pay for that." Faust said solemnly, then burst into a rage screaming "NOBODY HURTS MY ELIZA!"

Suddenly, Eliza vanished and an ethereal mist began surrounding Faust until he could no longer be seen.

"Now, let's show him the strength of our love, and the true power of resurrection! OverSoul, Eliza Operieren!"

A bright light filled the sky as Eliza's transformation took place. As the light began to fade, Faust's new OverSoul had revealed itself. Eliza, now regular size, stood there, medical equipment protruding from her back, ready for battle.

"You think another transformation is gonna scare me?" Kiba asked as he rushed towards Eliza. "You've got another thing coming!"

As Kiba appears in front of Eliza to deliver a swift kick, Eliza counters by plunging the large scalpel deep into Kiba's stomach. Much to Eliza's surprise, a log suddenly appeared where Kiba was.

"PASSING FANG!" Kiba yelled from behind, as his attack burrowed deep into her back pushing her forward several hundred feet and directly into a building.

"How do you like that?" Kiba asked, confidently. "You're lucky that Akamaru isn't with me. You might not have survived that attack."

Eliza stood up and began stabbing, cutting, and slashing at Kiba, alternating between her syringe, scissors, and scalpel. Kiba, unable to dodge all of them, accumulated even more damage.

"This isn't working." Kiba thought. "I can hit her all I want, but as long as Faust is around, she'll continue to stand up. I need to find out where he's hiding."

Realizing this, Kiba immediately left his battle with Eliza and began searching for Faust. Eliza followed, all the while continually trying to attack him. Kiba used his enhanced sense of smell to find Faust standing menacingly over Akamaru.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kiba screamed full of rage. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!"

"I need not touch him. For he's already long gone." Faust said solemnly. "It would seem that he bled out not long ago."

Shocked at the news of his best friend's death, Kiba dropped to his knees. The shock was so great, he found himself unable to even cry.

"Just, kill me already." Kiba begged quietly, tears finally running down his face. "He was my best friend, and I failed to save him. I don't deserve to be a ninja."

"You must've really loved him." Said Faust. "I, too, know what it is to lose the most important person in your life."

"WHY DO YOU CARE!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM!" Kiba exclaimed out of sheer fury. "YOU KILLED HI-"

"Eliza is my late wife." Faust interrupted sternly, shocking Kiba once more. "I lost her to a thug with a gun, and there was nothing I could do about it. But, alas, I found that there was something I could do about it. I became a Shaman, a Necromancer to be specific."

"A what?" Kiba asked, confused. "A necromancer?"

"Yes. Necromancers are Shamans with the ability to resurrect the dead. Which is why you see Eliza's spirit here with us now." Faust explained. "The second your friend here died, you and I became kindred spirits. We've both lost someone very important to us. But with my ability, I will be able to reunite you."

"Go ahead, kill me!" Kiba shouted "Kill me now!"

"I'm not going to kill you, boy." Said Faust condescendingly. "I'm going to revive your dog."

"How?" Kiba asked.

"Being a necromancer is a part of my family history, because of this and my desire to see my beloved Eliza once more, I have finally learned to resurrect the dead." Faust claimed. "I need you to now trust me. Because after this, our fight is over."

"Anything. Please, just bring him back." Kiba begged.

"Now, Eliza, THOUSAND YEAR SECRET ART: JUGON ZONSHI!" screamed Faust.

A bright light glowed from within Eliza's syringe and was fired directly at Akamaru. Slowly, as the Eliza and the light began to fade, Akamaru began to breathe once more and his wounds were completely healed. Faust started to walk away.

"Thank you, Faust." Kiba said. "Akamaru owes you his life."

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Do not thank me, I merely know what it's like to lose your best friend." Faust said with a melancholy smile. "I must go now, for if we were to continue fighting, I would surely lose. I used the rest of my furyoku bringing back your friend."

"Furyoku?" Kiba asked, still confused "What is that?"

"Ah, I seem to have forgotten, I'm not of this world. Allow me to explain." Faust said. "Furyoku is a product of willpower, stored within the bodies of all living creatures. Some may not even use their furyoku, but there are those in my world who are called Shamans. Shamans are a people who use their furyoku to align themselves with spirits, in order to gain their aid in battle in the form of an OverSoul."

"So furyoku is like Chakra?" said Kiba

"Chakra?" asked Faust, with a confused look.

"Looks like we've got to educate each other, today." Kiba said, laughing. "Chakra is similar to furyoku, in the sense that it's in all living creatures. But the difference is that chakra has many different properties. It can be used to enhance Physical Combat (Taijutsu), to allow the use of special techniques (Ninjutsu), or even to set up a trap for gathering intelligence or assassination (Genjutsu)."

"Interesting." Faust said, thoughtfully. "I'll have to look more into this. And report back to Master Yoh."

"Master Yoh? You mean you don't work for Madara?" Kiba asked, confused.

"Who is Madara?" Faust asked, just as confused.

"Looks like we aren't enemies after all." Said Kiba.

"It would seem so." Faust said in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5: The Pride of a Lone Wolf

**Chapter 5: The Pride of a Lone Wolf**

"8 trigrams, 64 palms!" Neji screamed as he sent his opponent flying through a building. "Is this all you've got? You're pathetic."

As the smoke cleared, a giant dome of ice stood amid the site of impact.

"He's pretty strong isn't he Kororo?" said Horohoro as Neji stood there, ready for battle.

Kororo nodded in agreement.

"Let's show him what we can do." Horohoro suggested with an earnest excitement in his voice. "Oversoul: Nipopo Gauntlets!"

Kororo transformed into two large gauntlets of Ice that surrounded HoroHoro's arms. Both gauntlets freezing, each just as terrifying.

"Come to think of it," HoroHoro claimed. "I never learned your name. I'd at least like to know the person I'm fighting. The name's HoroHoro."

"Neji Hyuga." Neji said condescendingly. "I'd tell you not to forget it, but I don't believe you'll live long enough to have that privilege."

"You're cocky. I'm gonna enjoy making you eat those words." HoroHoro said smugly.

Horohoro instantly rushed in with a flurry of frozen fists, moving faster and faster with each punch thrown. Yet, the technique seemed ineffective, since Neji was dodging all of his attacks.

"Why can't I hit him!?" Horohoro thought. "It's like he can read everything I'm doing!"

Neji continued to dodge the punches until an opening revealed itself. He immediately parried an oncoming punch and counterattacked.

"Gentle Fist!" Neji screamed, as he sent a concentrated blast of chakra through HoroHoro's stomach.

HoroHoro fell to his knees clutching his stomach, screaming in pain.

"GAHH! What the hell did you do to me? You didn't even touch me!" HoroHoro screamed in agonizing pain.

"I warned you that you may not live, did I not?" Neji retorted as he moved back into his stance. "This is the technique of the Hyuga clan. The Gentle Fist. By sending concentrations of chakra through your body, I don't need to touch you to hurt you."

"Chakra? Heh, whatever. That hurt, but it didn't hurt enough to drop my OverSoul." HoroHoro said as he stood up slowly. "I'll get you back for that."

HoroHoro began throwing punches, more aggressively. This time, he realized that landing a hit would not be an easy feat. He began to think.

"He seems really confident. I wonder if I could use that against him..." HoroHoro thought. "I know! Let's try this!"

Out of nowhere HoroHoro ceased his assault and jumped back, as his left gauntlet began to glow and an aura of frost and snow began to emanate from his fist.

"Harakihoku: Wose, Little Regret!" screamed HoroHoro as he threw his fist forward forcefully, firing a bone-chilling gust of wind directly at Neji.

"Eight Trigrams Palms, Revolving Heaven!" Neji yelled as he attempted to repel the attack.

HoroHoro's attack froze everything around the rotating sphere, trapping Neji in a large dome of ice.

"I guess he's got some powerful tricks up his sleeve." Neji said to himself. "I've never seen an attack that can stand up to my Revolving Heaven, let alone freeze it."

As Neji struggled to break the barrier of ice, he heard a scream coming from above him.

"Shimonmataki: Rupushikateku, Freezing Hands!" HoroHoro screamed as he broke through the dome and delivered a jarring haymaker, sending Neji flying into a wall of ice.

"Tch. You're stronger than you look." Neji said as he barely managed to stand up. "It may be time that I show you my true strength."

The veins around Neji's eyes began to pulsate, growing larger and more visible.

"Byakugan!" Neji said as he activated his most powerful technique, a hidden technique or Kekkei Genkai passed down by the Hyuga clan.

"That last punch should've frozen his entire head." HoroHoro thought to himself. "What is this guy?"

Neji and HoroHoro continued their clash within the barrier, meeting each attack with one of their own. Neji, finally landing a blow, sent HoroHoro flying backwards once again.

"There's no way I can beat him like this. I vastly underestimated his power." HoroHoro said. "Maybe I have to get a little more creative."

HoroHoro began releasing icy particles from his gauntlets. A thick mist began filling up the dome, surrounding Neji and HoroHoro so densely that neither of them could see through.

"Let's see you dodge this!" HoroHoro thought as he launched his attack from within the mist. "Harakihoku: Wose, Little Regret!"

Unbeknownst to HoroHoro, the Byakugan provides the user with 360 degrees of vision, giving Neji the upper hand.

"That won't work!" Neji screamed as he counterattacked. "8 Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

With no time to defend himself, the attack sent HoroHoro flying backwards, forcing his oversoul to drop, and lodging him in the barrier wall. Neji, without dropping his guard, slowly approached him.

"Now, tell me why Madara hired you." Neji said, still rattled from the previous haymaker.

"Who the hell is Madara? I was brought here by the Great Spirit, you dumb prick." HoroHoro retorted as he began to cough up blood.

"The Great Spirit?" Neji asked, confused. "Stop lying and tell me where Madara is."

"I told you, I don't know who Madara is, let alone where he's hiding." HoroHoro replied. "I'm only here so I can get stronger. The Great Spirit bound our destinies together so that we could both get stronger. Now back up, we're not finished yet."

HoroHoro dislodged himself from the wall and fell to one knee. The impact had broken several ribs and fractured his left arm, but HoroHoro stood to fight.

"I can't lose to you. I can't lose to anyone. I need to win. I WILL WIN!" HoroHoro said as his eyes burned with an icy resolve.

"I respect your will and ability to fight. If you wish to continue, that is your choice. I will be more than honored to oblige." Neji answered.

Kororo appeared next to HoroHoro. Due to his injuries, she urged him to stop fighting and retreat. But the passion that burned in his eyes showed her that this fight wasn't over just yet. As he began to stand tall, he picked up the Ikupasuy, his medium, and spoke out.

"Kororo, this may be my final battle." HoroHoro said, solemnly. "I'm pretty sure that this guy is gonna kill me. In case I don't make it, I'm honored to have been your shaman. I'll see you soon, Tamiko."

Kororo was in shock at HoroHoro's words. Not only that he had become so accepting of his fate, but that he used her real name, Kurobe Tamiko. She held back her tears and remembered that they were partners, through victory and defeat. And because of that, she would stand by him always.

"I haven't got much furyoku left, but I have enough left for one more OverSoul. Are you ready, Kororo?" asked HoroHoro.

Kororo nodded, with a heavy heart.

"OverSoul! Kororo-Ikupasuy!" HoroHoro screamed as a shield appeared on his right arm. The shield was like that of a sun but with the face of an owl. The shield emanated a frigid aura, an aura so cold, the ground began to freeze. HoroHoro began to run on the frozen ground, and suddenly he was skating towards Neji at a virtually blinding speed. The shield transformed into a blade as HoroHoro jumped high into the air, for his final attack.

"Niike Fuike Kiroro! Scimitar of Snow!" HoroHoro slashed downwards with his blade slashing Neji across the chest, creating icicles in their stead.

Neji, caught off guard, took heavy damage from the icicles as they shattered from within his wound. The shards of ice fired in all directions, deeper into Neji's body. The shattering ice caused Neji to pass out from shock and possible hypothermia.

As HoroHoro fell to the ground, his body limp from exhaustion, he felt someone catch him.

"Are you okay? I'm here now."


End file.
